A New Beginning
by TheDerpHowlsAtMidnight
Summary: Zach has spent his days alone, but what would happen if his group ran into Beth at the hospital? Would her fate be sealed, or would she survive? Would Rick's group fight, or join the new group. Follow Rick, Daryl, and the others and see who survives, and who comes to an end...
1. The Burning Flame

**Zach**

It was a chilly day in Atlanta, and Zachary Williams had been traveling on the road for a while now. He was by himself, every group he had been in was destroyed by Walkers, or by other people. He sat down next to an old pickup truck and took his backpack off. He opened it up to find a pair of binoculars, a Snickers bar, and a bottled water. He devoured half of the Snickers bar within minutes, and drank some of his water. He put the materials back into his backpack and slung it back onto his shoulders. He got back up and continued to follow the long road. He was praying about finding another person when he smelled smoke. Hope rose up into his soul as he started to jog towards the source, thinking that there could be other survivors besides himself.

Zach finally got to the source of fire, and was let down at the sight of a burning prison surrounded by Walkers. The twenty year old boy sat down in the grass and looked at the scene. He took his binoculars out of his backpack and observed the sight. There had been a tank that was also destroyed, but it had done its damage to the prison. The prison itself was burning, and Walkers were aimlessly walking around it. He knew that everyone in that prison had to be dead, so he didn't get his hope up again. Part of him wished that the tank wasn't destroyed, but even if it wasn't, he wouldn't know how to drive it. He put his binoculars back into his backpack and let out a long sigh, he was feeling hopeless.

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><p><strong><span>Bridget<span>**

Bridget Atwood had been running from a herd of Walkers that had driven her deep into the forest off of the road she was traveling on. She had finally lost them, but she was deep into the woods. She sat down onto a decent sized rock and fixed a piece of blonde hair that had fell onto her face. The eighteen year old was lost and confused. She knew her parents were dead, she had to watch her mother eat her father alive. Her best friend named Jerry had tried to save Bridget's father, only to be eaten himself. Everyone that Bridget ever cared about was gone or killed. She cried herself to sleep some nights, it eased the pain that she felt. She was thinking about her parents when a strange scent awakened her from her thoughts. It was the smell of smoke. She debated on going towards the smell, and she decided that it was for the best if she did.

Bridget stood up and started to walk, and about thirty minutes later, she was at the sight. She looked at the burning prison that stood in front of her and sighed. _"This is pointless." _Bridget thought to herself as she looked at the prison with sheer amazement. This place probably held people who thrived, but now it was a pile of trash. She saw the tank and already hated the people who decided to attack the prison. The place looked like an all out warzone, bodies were being eaten by Walkers, and things were destroyed. She looked at her surroundings and noticed a figure lying in the grass. The figure was a good ways off, but it didn't look like a Walker. Hope started to rise inside of her, but she didn't get too excited. She started to make her way towards the figure, hoping that her luck was going to change. Bridget made her way to the figure and finally reached it.

"Are you alive?" Bridget asked, she knew that sounded pretty dumb, but she couldn't think of anything better to ask the person.

"That's a stupid question, but yeah. I'm alive last time I checked." Zach said sarcastically, but with a smile.

"Anyways, let's ignore my stupid comment. I'm Bridget Atwood, and you are..." The blonde asked Zach with a smirk.

"Zachary Williams." Zach said, finishing Bridget's sentence for her.

"Let me guess, you smelled the smoke and it led you here?" Bridget asked Zach with a smirk, he followed the smell for the same reason she did.

"Yep. I thought for sure I would find a huge group, and a nice house or something. Guess I was pretty wrong, huh?" Zach asked her, also returning a smirk. He observed that Bridget looked about to be his age, maybe a bit younger perhaps.

"Yep. I was wishing for the same thing. I was devastated at first, but at least I'm not the only person alive in this world." Bridget said to Zach with a warm smile. She wondered how many people were still surviving in this world.

"I agree. We shouldn't stand here and talk, we could be ambushed by Rotters at any given moment. I say you and I find shelter, then we can talk." Zach suggested as he eyed a Walker that was getting closer to them.

"That sounds like a wonderful idea to me." Bridget told him, also taking note of the Walker.

"Let's get out of here." Zach said. He started to walk into direction he had came from.

Bridget liked the new person, and decided to stick with him to see how things turned out. She followed behind his footsteps and hoped that they could find shelter and more survivors. They made their way to the road as the sun started to set.


	2. The Long Road Ahead

**Beth**

It was a chilly day at the Grady Memorial Hospital. Beth got done changing some bed sheets from a person's room, planning her escape. _"There has to be a way out. I can't go out the way Noah did, there's too many Walkers." _She started to head to another patients room, carrying out her daily duties as a maid. She hated it at the hospital, she had hardly no freedom. She missed the group, and couldn't wait to get back to them.

"Hey Beth, I need you to clean up some bed sheets in a patients room. It's... Messy." Dawn Lerner commanded Beth.

"Okay, can you show me the way?" Beth asked, annoyed that Dawn had interrupted her thoughts. Beth was getting use to the woman, but Dawn still pissed her off a lot. Beth followed the cop down the hall into a room where the bed sheets had blood stains on them.

"Here it is. Time to get to work." Dawn told Beth as she left the room.

Beth sighed and looked at the bed. She had no clue what happened, but it wasn't pretty. The cops in the hospital usually 'rescue' anyone that they could use, but they couldn't save everyone. Beth took the corners of the sheet and folded all four together so she wouldn't get blood on herself. She then made her way to a sink and placed the sheets next to it. She looked out the window and saw that the sun had already set, the day was over. She walked to her bedroom and shut the door, she then took off her shoes and slid into bed. _"I'll wash the sheets tomorrow." _She told herself. She closed her eyelids and slowly drifted to sleep, tomorrow was a new day.

**Daryl**

Daryl was standing outside of a large building with Carol, they were getting ready to clear it. Daryl lifted his crossbow and motioned his left hand, it meant for Carol to open the door. As Carol opened it, Daryl slowly moved in with his crossbow lifted high, just in case there were any Walkers or angry survivors. He took three steps into the hallway and banged the butt of the crossbow against the wall, seeing if any Walkers came to him, none did. He listened closely to see if he could hear any groans, there were none.

"Clear." Daryl said as he started to make his up the staircase. He wanted to find shelter for the night, they couldn't travel in the middle of the night.

"Calm down, don't get too fast." Carol warned him as she followed behind him, rifle in hand.

Daryl made his way to the top of the stairs, and it got darker. He pulled out his flashlight and shined it around. He spotted a Walker, but it was already killed. He turned away from it and investigated the place further. He found a door and opened it, there was a small room. Daryl found another door and opened it, it led to an even smaller room with a bunk bed. He walked around in the room as Carol shut the door behind him.

"I'll take the top bunk. You can sleep, I'll take the first watch." Carol told him, putting her bags on top of her bunk. She then made her way to the window.

"I'm not tired yet." Daryl informed her as he put his stuff down.

"I'll keep first watch." Carol said again, this time with a shrug.

"Okay then. Suit yourself." Daryl said as he got into the bottom bunk. Silence lingered in the air for several minutes before Daryl fell asleep. He started to dream, but he was inside of the cabin with Beth.

_"What changed your mind?" _Beth asked with a smile as she sat across the table with Daryl. When Daryl didn't give her an answer, she pressed on.

_"What changed your mind?" _The blonde asked again with a smile.

_"You know." _Daryl told her. A moment of silence went by when Beth finally realized it.

_"Oh..."_ She said, understanding.

That's when the dog came whining on the door, and Daryl knew what was coming next. He had no control over his dream self as he walked over to the door and opened it, Walkers came slamming onto the door.

_"Beth!" _He yelled to her in shock. She ran across the corner and tossed him his crossbow. As his dream self told her to go through the back door, his real self wished that he would've went with her. As Beth disappeared across the corner, he knew that would be the last time he would see her face. He opened the door and the Walkers came swarming in. He got pushed back further into the house, and finally escaped it. He ran through the door, obviously out of breath. His eyes widened when he saw the black car with the cross on the back of it.

_"Beth!" He_ shouted out, but the car left. That didn't stop Daryl, he was relentless.

_"BETH!" _He shouted once more as he chased after the car.

Daryl's eyes snapped open as he realized that it was just a dream. He rolled over so that he faced the wall, his eyes were already drifting shut. He fell asleep once more, but this time, he didn't have any dreams.

**Zach**

Zach and Bridget found a log cabin on the road that they had been following.

"Looks good to me, it's already getting dark, and I'm having a hard time seeing in the dark. Let's clear the house and sleep here." Zach told her as they made it to the front door of the home.

"Okay, sounds like a plan." Bridget said, agreeing with Zach as she drew her kitchen knife that she had taken from her house.

Zach drew his Bowie knife and entered the front door. The moonlight shined through the house's windows, just enough to see the first floor of the cabin. A Walker turned around in the loft area and let out a growl. Zach blitzed the Walker and jammed the Bowie knife, driving it deep into its skull. He removed the knife with ease and looked around. there was one door near the staircase, he lined up outside of it and spoke up.

"Stay behind me." He told Bridget as he opened the door. There was one window that was lit by the moonlight, there were no Walkers. As Bridget got inside, Zach moved a bedroom dresser in front of the bedroom door.

"You can have the bed. I'll do the first watch. I can sleep on the floor." Zach said as he looked out the window.

"Okay, thanks. Wake me up later on tonight, and you can get some sleep." Bridget told Zach as she took off her shoes and climbed into bed.

"I'll wake you in an hour or so. Night Bridget." Zach said to her as he continued to look out of the window.

"Goodnight Zach." Bridget said with a smile as she closed her eyes and feel asleep within minutes.


	3. Consumed

_Disclaimer: For Daryl's dream in this chapter, I used Ballykissangels. I give credit for Daryl's dream to Ballykissangel. This is the link to her profile: __ u/4494844/_

_This is the link to the story that I got Daryl's dream from: s/10995124/1/Fare-Thee-Well-My-Honey_

_I thank her and her wonderful writing technique. I also apologize for the lack of posting chapters, I've been sick lately and was unable to write. I'm feeling better again and I hope you all enjoy the new chapter! _

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><p><span><strong>Daryl<strong>

After Daryl's dream, Carol and him had woken up and searched around. They eventually found Noah, who had begged for his life after almost killing Carol.

"Please! I was only trying to help my friend!" Noah begged to the two, he was trapped under a bookshelf that had toppled on top of him.

"I could care less what you were trying to do." Daryl informed Noah as he lit a cigar and started to smoke. He looked down unto Noah and felt little pity on the boy who had almost killed Carol.

"She promised me that we would escape together! But she got caught and was taken back there, but I escaped. You have to let me go! Please! I have to help Beth, please let me go!" Noah begged in agony as he looked Daryl in the eyes.

"Wait, who'd you say you were trying to help?" Daryl asked, returning the look to Noah. At first, he couldn't believe his ears, this had to be the wrong Beth.

"Beth. She was at the hospital, but they captured her again, and-" Noah was cut short by Daryl.

"Is she blonde?" Daryl asked, already picking up his crossbow while putting out his cigar.

"Yep, she is. Do you know her?" Noah asked, immediately feeling better, knowing that he wasn't going to be killed by these people since he knew where Beth was.

"Yeah, we do. Carol, let's go." Daryl said as he motioned for Carol to help him move the bookshelf from the young boy. As they did so, Carol helped Noah to his feet. Daryl exited the building and waited for Carol as she had to let Noah lean on her for support, his legs were obviously hurt from the bookshelf. They came out of the building, moving slower than Daryl was.

"How much further is the hospital from here?" Carol asked with a grunt as she was trying to keep up with Daryl. She had to stop to catch her breath, she was doing most of the work. She observed Daryl as he jogged to the road in the middle of the street.

"I'd say that it's a good ways off." Noah replied, stopping also. He was worn out from the long day he already had went through.

Daryl was listening to Carol and Noah's conversation as he was crossing the road. He heard the sound of a car, and turned to see what was coming. A car was zooming towards him, and he had no time at all to get out of the way. He was blindsided and hit, his vision started to blur as his head slammed the pavement. He saw Carol's mouth wide open, she was about to scream. He wanted to tell her that everything was going to be okay, but his vision faded to black.

Daryl thought he had woken up, but he was in another dream. He was unsure of his surroundings, he only knew that he was outside of the hospital with Beth in his arms. He frantically tried to put pressure on the wound as her breathing began to shake.

"You're gonna be fine, Beth. Just look at me."

Daryl tried to keep his voice calm as possible, but it was difficult. He could tell that a bullet had hit her in the side of her head.

As he knelt on the roadside, he cradled her thin body, supporting her head and shoulders With His left arm as he tried to stop the bleeding from her side with His right hand. Her blood Rushed through His fingers and soaked onto the pavement.

"It's, it's okay, Daryl," she whispered. Her voice shook with pain and it was muffled by the blood in her throat.

He knew better now. He should've been there for her at the hospital, but he didn't make it to her in time. He was bent over her, a bullet hole was penetrated in her head, but it had obviously missed her brain. She was indeed dying from the lack of blood in her body.

"Not gonna happen," he replied gruffly. "We... We can find shelter, or... Or someone to help you.."

Beth looked at him and tried to sigh, but started to cough up blood. She didn't have much time to live, and Daryl knew that. "No... Don't be silly Daryl Dixon, no one can help me... now."

He kept walking, trying to ignore what her words actually meant, was afraid to set her down and face them. This wasn't supposed to happen. Not this way. Not to _her_. What happened to Tyreese's plan? They were supposed to go in, trade the prisoners, and rescue Beth. Nobody expected Beth to get shot by Dawn.

"Set me down, Daryl, please. You don't need... need to overreact." Beth begged.

"No," he grunted, obviously getting choked up from Beth.

"Please…" She begged once more.

Daryl slowly looked her in the eyes and saw death, and he knew she was scared of dying. He wasn't ready for her to leave this world, and she wasn't either. He felt like crying, but he couldn't. He couldn't let Beth see him cry in her final moments of life.

"It's okay. Everything's gonna be okay Daryl Dixon." Beth whispered. Daryl liked how Beth could always find the worst situations and make something good out of them.

"It's not supposed to be like this, the plan was to rescue you..." he hollered, the fullness of grief finally overtaking him. He didn't even try to fight it now.

"Tell me that you won't miss me when I'm gone Daryl Dixon..." Her blue eyes never wavered from his. He knew that if he told her that, that he would be telling her lies.

"I..." He struggled helplessly to reply, but he couldn't find a way to say yes. He was going to hurt like hell when she was gone, and nothing in the world could prepare him for her death."

"Daryl, you won't miss me. You'll... You'll have Carol." Beth told him in a whisper. Daryl knew that Carol would be there for him, but Beth's death was too soon, too sudden.

Desperation ran through him, creeping up into his throat and tears dropped gently onto her face. "Beth... You... You can't leave me...Not like this..." He protested.

Beth gave him a small smile and said "You'll have the memories that we shared... At the cabin... And the ones we're having right now."

"No... No... Don't say that. You'll... You're gonna make it..." He said, his voice was uneven. Daryl was going to break if Beth left him at this very moment.

"Will you stay with me? I'm afraid." Beth whispered, her voice was frail.

He nodded faintly, knowing what she meant.

"You... You were always there to make me smile Daryl Dixon... I'm real glad to have met you." Beth told him, her voice still in a whisper.

"Stop... You ain't going nowhere..." Daryl told her, his right hand met hers on the ground. He felt something wet, and knew it was her blood.

"You... You remember the stories we told at the cabin?... Can you tell me... Tell me one more..." Beth said in her frail voice.

Daryl's eyes never left hers, and he noticed her once bright blue eyes, turn to a dull blue. He wanted to sob, but held it all in. He racked his brain of all of his memoires and thought of a story to tell her.

"There once was a man and a woman that got lost together in a cabin. It was just them two together..." Daryl had to finish the story for Beth.

"The man couldn't stop looking at the beautiful girl's eyes. He was too shy to tell her... to tell her how he felt..." He said in a low voice.

Beth flashed a small, weak smile at Daryl. He could tell that she was getting ready to leave him.

"What, what color were the girl's eyes?" Beth asked softly.

Beth's voice was so soft and weak, that he could barely hear her.

"Her eyes were the brightest bl..."

He froze and his voice trailed off as he saw that she stopped breathing, and she stopped blinking. Daryl began to let out all of his pain through sobs.

"Blue," he whispered to her. "The girl's eyes were the brightest blue he'd ever seen."

Daryl began to sob even louder and louder. He didn't know if Rick and the others were watching him, but at this point, he really didn't care.

He shakily pulled his pistol from his holster. His hand trembled as he positioned her head so that it hovered over the ground, but he would not release his embrace on her.

Beth's voice rang through his head. _"You'll miss me so bad when I'm gone Daryl Dixon."_

He leaned forward and slowly closed her eyes. They had never left his face. He ran his hand through her golden blonde hair and continued to sob.

"Goodbye Beth Greene." Daryl said with a hoarse voice.

He placed the muzzle of the pistol against her forehead and looked away from the scene, he couldn't watch.

_"You'll be the last man standing." _Beth's voice rang through his head one last time.

It felt like he was the one that died as the world exploded in his hand.

At that very moment, his eyes shot opened, it was only a nightmare.

**Bridget**

Bridget woke up in the bed to see Zach passed out in the corner. She climbed out of bed and slipped on her shoes, already heading towards him.

"You forgot to wake me." She said, slightly annoyed at him.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to fall asleep." Zach said, waking up in a jolt.

Bridget sighed and said "We should probably go out for a run."

"That sounds like a-" Zach was cut off by four figures standing outside of the cabin they were at. Zach grabbed his Bowie knife as Bridget grabbed her kitchen knife. Bridget exited the room with Zach as they lined up near the front door. Zach opened the door and saw the four people. One of them held up a M9 while the other three clutched their melee weapons.

"Don't move." The man holding the M9 said.

"You don't move, or else I'll chuck this Bowie knife towards your chest." Zach said, threatening the man.

The two small groups looked at each other for a minute before a girl asked "Well... Are you friendly?"

"Depends. Are you?" Bridget asked the girl who appeared to be around Bridget's age.

"Yeah... We are..." Another boy spoke up, he had a bandage wrapped around his left leg.

"Come on in... I'm Zach, and that's Bridget." He said, pointing to his friend.

Bridget nodded and started to walk towards the house. She had a feeling that Zach didn't trust these people much either.

"I'm Kenny. This here is Danny, that's _Mark, _and this person here is new. Mark picked him up on the side of the road. Said his old group abandoned him and shot him in the leg. His name is Gage." Kenny said, slowly following Bridget, the rest of his team followed behind him.

Bridget noticed that they were all around the same age, but you can't trust everyone you see. Bridget started to hope that these were good people, and not thieves.


End file.
